Page 19 of Motown
“We’re not alone, Tessa.The club has allies, and we have a plan.You need to trust me, and the club,” he says.
I loop my arm around his waist, looking up at him.“I believe in you.”He brushes his lips over mine.
“That’s good, babe.”The bell over the door rings, and a couple of ladies come into the shop.“Go do your thing.We’ll take care of the rest.”
It’s much later in the afternoon, with no sign of trouble, but plenty of customers coming in to browse.Word is getting around about my little place, and when customers come in, they stay awhile and chat.Judy, from the hair salon down the street, comes in for a lamp for her mother’s side table.Her mother loves to read and is straining her eyes.I show her the vintage-style lamp I picked up months ago at an auction, which I thought was pretty and was going to keep for myself, but Judy really loves it for her mom.Judy is on the committee for the fall festival and extends an invitation to me to come to their meetings.
Sasha seems to know everyone who comes through the door, and they adore her.I can understand why.Sasha is the kindest, most loving woman I’ve met.She hardly knows me, and chooses to sit with me the entire day, when I’m sure she has plenty to do of her own.
“The festival will give you some exposure, and it’s a lot of fun.One thing this town likes to do is congregate and eat,” Judy says with a laugh.
“She’s not kidding,” Sasha joins in.“You can make small baskets, and I’m sure they’ll get snatched up.”
“Oh!That’s a great idea,” Judy says enthusiastically.“Don’t forget, you’re doing a yoga session that day.”She beams at Sasha.
“I’m doing two,” Sasha replies happily.“I thought I’d give the parents a break and do a children’s session.It’s only for an hour at most, but it will give parents the opportunity to get a coffee on their own.”
“That would be awesome.”Judy clasps her hands together, her eyes lighting up.“This is going to be the best festival yet.”
“You say that every year,” Sasha teases.
“And every year, they get better,” Judy counters.
Judy stays for a while and has tea with Sasha and me, and as other people come in to take a look, they end up chatting and staying awhile.Motown pops in from time to time to let me know he’s with us.He whispers in my ear, “You’re going to need a bigger place if this keeps up.”
I giggle.“It’s fantastic.I should set up a coffee station.”
“They’d never leave, babe.”Motown chuckles.
Motown
Nothing happens at the Cozy Corner, which is fine by me.Tacitus has been patrolling the neighborhood, watching for anything that seems odd.He spotted a couple of guys hanging out down the street at the park.According to Tacitus, they didn’t look like they belonged, sitting on a park bench reading the paper, and they didn’t have any kids playing there.
Tacitus reported it immediately, and I got hold of Hawk to let him know.Within the hour, Hawk and Shooter drove by, making it obvious to the two men that they had their eyes on them.They took off right after that.Shooter gave them a lead, but was following at a distance to see where they ended up.
Bronson has his goons watching the shop, and I know it’s just to get to me and the club.The Cozy Corner isn’t the only store on the strip, and he could easily have moved on to intimidate another store owner, but Bronson’s ego is wounded, so he’s playing the hard game.
At closing, Drifter picks up Sasha, with a message from Hawk that the club brothers need to meet at the compound later that night.I don’t want Tessa left alone at her place, and I know she was looking forward to a night in her own bed.I decide to wait until after dinner before asking her to come back with me and take her to my favorite burrito hut for the best Mexican food around.
The place is jam-packed, but the owner sees me from the corner of his eye, calls my name, and waves me over.He pulls me in for a manly embrace and slaps my back.
“Been too long, old man,” Randy says.“Where you been?”He then looks to Tessa and gives me a grin.“Never mind.I can see you’ve been spending time with a pretty girl.”He holds out his hand for Tessa.“Randy, and if this schlump isn’t treating you right, you come tell me, and I’ll straighten him out.”
Randy’s in his late sixties, balding with a pot belly, is a head shorter than me, and is funny as hell.He has a way of making even a bad day into a not-so-bad day.Randy’s seen plenty of bad days.The worst being when his wife, Ramona, was diagnosed with MS.He saw his wife deteriorate right before his eyes, then he buried her.His sons and daughter were a mess, but he held it together for their sake.It wasn’t until after the funeral and his kids went back to their lives that Randy was at his worst.
It sucked to see a good man fall apart.I couldn’t help myself and followed him to the cemetery one evening.He cried like a baby over his wife’s grave.I stayed in the background until he was done, and when he turned to leave, I was there.We bonded that night, and our casual friendship became more like kindred spirits.
“This is my girl, Tessa.I promised her the best Mexican food, and the only place to get that is your place,” I tell him.
“Wow!You landed a woman this beautiful,” he teases, then turns back to Tessa.“Are you sure about this?He’s a little rough around the edges.”
“He’s perfect,” Tessa answers with a grin, and presses herself tighter to my side.
“If you like a moody and gruff, but also loyal, honest, an excellent listener, and one of the bravest men I know, he’s your kind of guy,” Randy says.
“Knock it off.I’ll get a swelled head,” I joke.
“I’d better get you fed before you turn back to moody,” Randy retorts and walks us over to a quiet table in the corner.He doesn’t bother to hand out a menu.I know the drill; Randy always picks out the best on the menu and the special of the day for me.“Food will be out in fifteen.”He goes back to the kitchen.Randy has plenty of good staff, but whenever any of the Redemption Riders come in, he makes the order himself.
